Paddling GlovesTom Watson reviews some general optionsfor protecting hands while out paddling:Simple neoprene, poggies, scuba gloves, etcQuick Tips for Canoe Camping TripsKevin Callan passes along some simple tricks he as learned over the years aboutcamping and paddling.. with videos too!

Linier PE
PollyEtholyne
Liquid Logic makes boats with both materials
Whats the difference
Ones made with pelits melted in the mold and the other is melted and then injected?
Whats beter,or is one cheaper to to.
Just curious.
Ill check back for an answer on sunday
Im heading up to the poconos to paddle all weekend.
Have fun
I will
Thanks

The only other kind of PE construction is cross-linked which is a foam sandwiched between two layers of PE to make a stiffer (but more heavy and costly) boat. Jackson makes their kayaks that way but I don't know that Liquid Logic does. At any rate, that Jackson Kayak blog post explains the difference.

Cross-linked has more complex connectios , more of them at the moecular level . Stiffer , stronger , higher molecular weight , more resistent to degradation .

3 layer PE is what is normally thought of as having the floation core (middle layer) . Probably all 3 later is linear now a days . Personally I believe linear is more forgiving than cross-linked due to it's flex , but no doubt cross-linked is tougher ... pretty certain all the older PE canoes were cross-linked .

This is one of those cases where a Posted by: ezwater on Jul-18-13 11:56 PM (EST)

material is better on paper, but only about equal in the real world.

Dagger used crosslink back around 1990. Their boats were good, but didn't last longer than linear kayaks. Also, if a hull is pierced or torn, crosslink is very difficult to weld. Linear welds easily.

Today's "superlinear" kayaks are still surviving just as well in the field as Jackson crosslink. And as I noted elsewhere, latest word is that Jackson is switching to superlinear. Please pardon me, Jackson, if I'm wrong.

And Prijon HDPE is still stiffer, harder, and stronger for the same weight than crosslink or linear. It's just that other makers have chosen not to deal with the high mold costs and quality control issues of HDPE. Eskimo is the only other HDPE kayak maker I know, and they are not being imported to the US right now.

There's also crosslinked polyethylene. Jackson Kayaks was using it, but they've switched to linear.

Prijon uses HDPE or high density polyethylene, and a different molding process, blow molding. It's a bit tougher and harder than linear, but I think it's more expensive and maybe harder to control in production.

Types of plastic Posted by: old_user on Jul-19-13 9:50 AM (EST)

How they paddle is more important. Plastic boats are OK (I have two). Just store them out of the sun, don't wrench them too hard when they are on the roof rack, and sponge out the water when you are done paddling to preserve the foam inside.

thanks... Posted by: willowleaf on Jul-19-13 10:56 AM (EST)

...for the technical clarifications on that. I should have waited until I was back in the office to answer. Could have walked over to our chemical engineering department and asked them (since they design manufacturing plants for the plastics industry). I just did and they concurred with all that g2d and pilotwingz have stated.